Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-05-01
IMMIGRATION.
Extent and D anger of Foreign Immigra.
tiOn to the United States.
PhiladeInEfa Press-

Extent and anger of Foreign Immigra
tiou to the United States.
Philadelphia Press.
The announcement that the ocean
steamers carrying Immigrants to this
country are oyerburdened with applica-
lions for passage, and that hundreds are
encamped ia Queenstown awaiting accom-
modatiOns, shows that the tide of immi-
grafton which has been steadily falling
| for four years past is again on the rise.
In 1882 immigration reached its food
mark, 1892 persons having been
added in that year to our
population in this way. The fol-
lowing year the number fell to COS, 1922,
and 1883 saw further decrease to 5l8,-
592. The year 1885 sliced off another
large fraction, leaving the number at
395, 34G; this was only slightly diminished
IN 1886, 392,887 having immigrated in
that year. But the return of business
prosperity promises, as 1t always has
done, TO put the figures again on the as
Cending scale, and add perhaps,
polyglot host of 100000 persons to the
population of this country during 1887.
The growth Of socialism and commun-
ism within ;he past few years has drawn
serious attention to tbs question whether
this country can safely permit any
longer the indiscriminate immigration
which has gone on during the past thirty
years. The census of 1850 showed that
there were 6,6z9,943 people of foreigu
birth. in the country, and that their
children numbered $685. 53. The total
foreign immigration since 1880 aggregates
3,354,262, so that, allowing for deaths,
probably one in every eight of the present
population is OF foreign birth. Statistics
show that from this class coaes Is per
cent. OF the criminals, about tne same
proportion of psupers and probably 60
per cent. OF the saloon keepers, But even
these ere not the worst results to the
nation from iuGiscriminate Immigration.
The anarchists and socialists whose pro-
CeedingS have threatened the stability Of
social order, especially in the western
cities, ere made up slmost.WhOlly of men
of foreign birth. 1t was the German.
socialists who conceived and carried oUa
the HaymarGet plot in CnGago, and ths
Milwaukee rioters were almost to d man
Polish anarchists,
Bit along with this increase in tae
criminal, psuper and Communistic ele-
ment is aROther evil, sad one insepareole
iICSN ~ GG IL tuC dL1--LIAu2 SAOW iii VI LuC
iliterate class. TIE state census OF
Massachusetts, taken in 1885 is the latest
end most significant authority on this
subject. It shows nat in that state there
are ID, 5z2 persons. over ten years CT age
VINO Can not read aad write. For nearly
all this lliteracy the in4aux of foreigners
into the seaport and manufacturing
towns is responsible. Fall River
alcRe has 9292 parsons unable TO
read and write. In Lowell and
Adams the ilNtera.es nnm5es one in
ten; 10 Blackstone, Douglas and Web
ster, one in eight; in HolyOke ard Spen-
GER, one IN seVen. A special examination
inside in son2e OF the mills discovered the
fact that from one fifth to o1e-third of the
employees between the ages OF fourteen
and sixteen are totally nliterste. The
fishing towns present an exhibit equally
startling and discouraging, growing out
Of the presence of large numbers of Ital-
ian and Portuguese fishermen. That this
great mass of illiteracy is almost wholly
due to foreign immigration is shown by
the fact that less than per cent. of the
Eilliterates were Dorn in Massachusetts, Of
parents born in Massachusetts.
This exhibit In state which possesses
school system so nearly perfectaas Mas
sachusetts does may we'll cause sppre-
tension as to the possibility of dealing
with the promiscuous immigration, the